120 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
August  10,  1899 
when  the  blooms,  are  fully  open  they  are  not  so  beautiful.  L’ldeal  is 
a  first-class  Noisette  Rose  for  walls.  It  is  yellow  tinted  and  orange 
red,  and  the  blooms  are  sweet  srented.  The  best  white  Noisette  for  walls 
is  Aimee  \  ibert,  a  grand  climbing  Rose,  bearing  large  clusters  of  flowers. 
I  he  Polyantha  section  of  Roses  has  recently  given  an  exceptionally 
good  decorative  Rose  named  Crimson  Rambler.  It  is  of  very  vigorous 
growth,  and  produces  clusters  of  bright  crimson  flowers  arranged  in  a 
pyramidal  form. 
1  he  class  of  Roses  which  should  he  planted  to  cover  unsightly 
walls  or  objects,  and  which  require  little  or  no  pruning,  are  the 
Ayrshire  or  Evergreen  section.  They  are  very  vigorous  in  growth,  and 
bloom  abundantly  when  left  alone.  The  best  varieties  are  Alice  Gray, 
Dundee  Rambler;  both  these  are  white  and  pink.  Queen  of  the 
Belgians  is  white,  and  splendens  white  edged  with  red.  The  above  are 
Ayrshire  Roses.  Of  the  Evergieen  varieties  Felicite  Perpetue,  creamy 
white  ;  Princess  Marie,  deep  pink  ;  and  Rampante,  white,  are  excellent. 
^  hen  climbing  Roses  become  firmly  established  in  the  soil  they 
are  certain  to  produce  vigorous  shoots.  Dryness  at  the  roots  is  more 
fatal  to  free  growth  than  anything,  and  more  favourable  to  attacks  of 
mildew.  If  possible  afford  water  in  abundance  to  the  roots,  also 
liquid,  manure,  and  spread  a  mulch  over  the  soil  of  rich  and  generous 
material,  which  can  be  washed  in. 
I  tain-in  the  long  strong  shoots  of  T<as  and  Noisettes,  cutting  out 
vood  that  is  exhausted,  weak,  and  likely  to  crowd  the  tiees.  Well 
ripened  wood  will  always  produce  flowers,  therefore  see  that  sun  and 
air  can  reach  the  best  shoots. — E.  D.  S. 
Exhibition  and  Lecture  on  Roses. 
In  pursuance  of  the  scheme  inaugurated  by  the  Dumfriesshire 
and  Galloway  Plorticultnral  Society,  an  exhibition  of  flowers, 
followed  by  a  lecture  on  Roses,  was  held  in  Dumfries  on  3rd  August, 
t  he  leading  feature  of  the  exhibition  was  a  magnificent  collection  of 
Rose  blooms  shown  by  Messrs.  T.  Smith  &  Sons,  Stranraer.  Messrs. 
aimer  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  Annan,  N.B.,  also  showed  good  Roses.  Mr. 
James  Kennedy,  Greenbrae,  Dumfries,  had  Carnations  of  high  quality, 
which  showed  evidence  of  cultivation  of  the  best  kind.  Messrs.  Kerr 
Bros.,  Dumfries,  had  fine  herbaceous  plants,  Dahlias,  Sweet  Peas,  and 
Carnations.  Mr.  James  Service,  Dumfries,  made  an  interesting  show  of 
Sweet  Peas,  which  formed  a  large  collection.  Messrs.  T.  Kennedy  &  Co., 
Dumfries,  had  a  good  exhibit  of  herbaceous  flowers  and  Dahlias. 
Mr.  J.  MacKinnon,  Terregles  Gardens,  presided  at  the  well-attended 
lecture.  The  latter  was  delivered  by  Mr.  T.  Smith,  jun.,  of  Stranraer, 
and  was  an  able  exposition  of  the  best  methods  of  cultivation,  with 
valuable  information  about  stocks  and  other  important  questions  in 
the  culture  of  the  Rose.  A  useful  discussion  followed,  in  which  Mr. 
Smith’s  views  were  generally  approved,  and  he  was  heartily  thanked 
for  his  paper.  The  meeting  was  very  well  attended. 
ONION  CULTURE. 
One  would  suppose,  after  the  numerous  contributions  that  have 
appeared  testifying  to  the  good  results  subsequent  upon  raising  Onions 
under  glass,  that  the  practice  would  be  now  common.  It  is,  however, 
a  remarkable  fact  that  many  gardeners  are  quite  unaware  of  the 
practice  pursued,  either  as  a  means  of  increasing  the  bulk  of  the 
Onion  crop,  or  as  an  almost  certain  way  of  circumventing  the  Onion 
maggot.  The  practice  of  raising  plants  on  hotbeds  is  not  new,  and  fifty 
or  sixty  years  ago  it  was  recommended  as  an  approved  method  of  pro¬ 
ducing  Onions  at  once  heavy  and  insect  resisting.  At  the  same  time 
the  system  of  sowing  in  autumn  for  stock  to  transplant  in  spring  was 
in  vogue,  and  this  appears  to  have  been  the  method  which  attracted 
the  greater  number  of  followers — that  is,  if  we  may  judge  from  its 
continuing  in  practice  till  the  present  day,  while  the  other  was  allowed 
to  fall  into  disuetude. 
M  hile  having  a  personal  liking  for  the  system  of  raising  plants 
in  spring,  it  may  no  doubt  be  objectionable  to  not  a  few,  on  account 
of  its  adding  a  little  to  the  load  at  a  season  when  the  last  straw  may 
be  laid  on  at  any  moment,  and  to  these  autumn  sowing  can  therefore 
be  safely  commended.  The  chief  objection  to  sowing  now  is  the 
facility  with  which  the  young  plants  in  early  summer  turn  from  bulb 
extension  to  the  production  ot  flower  heads.  That,  however,  is 
largely  a  question  of  treatment,  and  it  is  worth  noticing  ihat  the 
initial  propulsion  in  the  latter  direction  is  very  commonly  due  to 
thick  seeding.  Little  is  mentioned  of  premature  flowering  by  the 
older  gardeners,  who  sowed  broadcast  in  prepared  beds,  and  always  so 
thinly  that  every  little  plant  had  room  for  healthy  development. 
The  newer  system  of  sowing  in  lines  has  brought  with  it  the  regretable 
practice  of  such  thick  scattering  that  the  young  plants  are  starved 
into  precocious  flowering,  and  valuable  as  the  practice  is  when 
intelligently  pursued,  it  is  in  that  respect  to  be  deplored  that  drill- 
cultivation  is  so  largely  followed. 
For  the  reason  just  given,  I  would  therefore  recommend  that  the 
seeds  be  sown  broadcast.  A  comparatively  small  extent  of  ground 
will  produce  several  thousand  plants,  and  as  the  labour  of  keeping  the 
bed  clean  and  free  from  weeds  will  be  very  slight,  there  is  no  valid  renson 
why  in  this  one  crop  a  reversion  to  an  old  practice  should  not  take 
place.  If,  however,  sowing  in  rows  be  determined  on,  seed  thinly,  or 
at  least  after  the  seedlings  are  well  up  thin  these  to  a  reasonable 
extent.  The  time  generally  recommended  for  autumn  sowing  is  the 
end  of  August  or  the  first  week  in  September.  It  may  occur  as  early 
as  July,  however,  but  in  this  case  a  variety  slow  to  bolt,  such  as 
James’  Keeping,  should  be  selected  in  preference  to  those  of  the  Spanish 
type.  Or  if  a  cold  frame  can  be  utilised,  sowing  may  be,  on  the  other 
hand,  deferred  until  the  beginning  of  October.  In  any  case,  the  soil 
must  be  prepared  before  sowing  I  y  thorough  pulverisation,  and  if  in  an 
insufficiently  fertile  condition  a  slight  dressing  of  spent  manure 
will  be  advantageous.  The  soil,  it  need  hardly  be  added,  should  be 
slightly  compressed  by  treading;  but  this  it  is  possible  and  easy  to 
overdo,  more  especially  if  the  soil  is  damp. 
Some  cultivators  deprecate  growing  Onions  on  any  system  of 
transplantation  on  account  of  the  extra  labour  they  suppose 
must  be  entailed,  and  so  they  go  on  preparing  ground  every 
spring,  thin  their  crops,  and  do  battle  with  a  foe  that  is  always  more 
or  less  victorious,  and  end  the  season  with  anything  between  half  a 
crop  and  nothing.  The  fact  is  this  “  extra  labour”  is  a  bugbear,  and 
they  are  frightened  for  an  imaginary  something  that  does  not  exist. 
Some  gardeners,  no  doubt,  give  themselves  a  vast  amount  of  labour 
transplanting  into  boxes  and  growing  their  plants  for  weeks  when 
they  would  be  quite  as  happy  in  the  open  garden.  But  such  labour  is 
unnecessary,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  earliest  moment  the  plant  can 
be  placed  out,  the  weather  being  propitious  and  the  soil  in  condition, 
the  better  they  succee  L  For  this  reason  autumn  sown  stock  should 
be  transplanted  as  early  in  March  as  possible,  and  January  raised  plants 
in  April. 
Another  point  in  their  culture,  perhaps,  worth  mentioning,  and  of 
importance  to  the  keeping  qualities  of  the  bulbs,  is  that  of  feeding. 
I  have  no  objection  to  highly  manured  ground,  juicy  cow  manure  in 
quantity,  and  a  dressing  of  superphosphate  when  the  plants  are 
put  out,  in  addition,  because  we  cannot  secure  nicely  flavoured  Onions 
on  anything  short  of  high  cultivation.  But,  as  a  rule,  it  is  safe  to 
stop  at  the  original  preparation,  and  this  more  especially  in  northern 
districts.  The  summer  treatment  therefore  would  be  confined  to 
repeatedly  stirring  the  ground,  and  towards  September  watching  that 
a  second  growth  does  not  succeed  a  period  of  rainy  weather.  The 
treatment  in  this  case  is  an  easing  of  the  roots  of  the  bulbs,  but  in 
ordinary  circumstances  this  will  seldom  be  required.  The  old  practice 
of  bending  the  leaves  is  good,  but  it  merits  a  thoughtful  application, 
not  crushing  them  suddenly,  but  pressing  them  geutly  down,  going 
over  the  plants  twice  at  intervals.  This  undoubtedly  promotes 
the  ripening  of  the  bulbs,  which  should  be  completed  when  the  crop 
is  li'ted  by  laying  it  thinly  on  trellises  of  wood  till  the  process  is 
completed.  The  large  growing  varieties,  of  Avhich  Excelsior  is  one  of 
the  best  for  ordinary  kitchen  use,  keep  quite  as  well  as  the  smaller 
varieties. 
Regarding  the  value  of  sowing  in  autumn  or  under  glass  in  early 
spring  as  a  means  of  staying  the  maggot  there  can  be  no  question. 
Maggots  are  no  doubt  to  be  found,  but  the  bulbs  throw  them  off, 
and  generally  the  wounds  heal  without  causing  any  material  damage. 
Three  years  ago,  after  having  sown  none  in  the  open  during  the  pre¬ 
ceding  three  years,  I  sowed  some  in  the  usual  way  at  one  end  of  the 
quarter  containing  the  transplanted  plants.  Maggots  cleared  off  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  former,  and  left  the  others. — R.  P.  Brotherston. 
Spring  and  Winter  Onions. 
I  WAS  much  interested  in  the  note  on  the  above  subject  which 
appeared  in  the  correspondence  column,  page  111,  because  it  is  a 
matter  which  at  present  is  open  to  discussion.  So  popular  is  the 
method  of  raising  Onions  under  glass  becoming  that  in  many  village 
competitions  growers  who  still  adopt  the  old  system  have  no  chance 
whatever  with  the  more  up-to-date  competitors.  In  some  places  the 
members  of  gardening  societies  have  been  discouraged  from  raising 
their  Onions  early  and  transplanting,  and  exhibitors  have  been  dis¬ 
qualified  on  the  ground  that  the  bulbs  were  not  spring  sown.  Both 
these  courses  are  obviously  wrong  and  not  consistent  with  the  aims  of 
a  gardening  society.  These  institutions  are  supposed  to  be  for  the 
improvement  of  horticulture,  and  the  main  idea  of  any  man  who  cul¬ 
tivates  a  garden,  no  matter  whether  large  or  small,  should  be  to  obtain 
the  heaviest  possible  weight  of  good  produce  from  the  piece  of  ground 
he  works.  If  by  going  to  the  trouble  to  raise  and  transplant  his 
Onions  he  can  effect  tthe  afore-mentioned  object,  then  all  the  more 
credit  to  him,  but  to  disqualify  a  man  for  doing  his  best  on  the 
ground  that  he  has  departed  from  a  time-honoured  rule,  is  putting  a 
premium  on  his  industry  and  does  not  savour  of  encouragement.  The 
editorial  suggestion  that  three  classes  for  Onions  should  be  provided 
instead  of  two  would  make  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty,  but  to  thrbw 
Onions  out  of  a  spring  sown  class  because  they  were  raised  in  a  green¬ 
house,  frame,  or  perhaps  in  a  cottage  window,  is  in  my  opinion  very 
unfair.— G.  H.  H. 
